Brain DeCoded with CodeX - Mission 2, Objective 5: Network Test

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Overview

Objective 4 was a chain, one device per link. This objective opens it up into an actual network. The program neural_network2 still runs on radio, but now the middle roles can hold as many CodeX devices as you have students. Role 1 starts the communication, the last role ends it, and everything between can be several devices deep.

That is much closer to how a real brain works, and it is also the payoff for the whole mission. Students who ran the unplugged chain in Objective 2 and coded a single neuron in Objective 3 now watch a signal move through a network they built themselves.

🎯 Project Goal: Students add code to a program that simulates an artificial neuron network.

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Learning Targets

I can collaborate in a team to form a neural network using the CodeX devices.
I can write a program that uses a radio signal to communicate with other CodeX devices.

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Key Concepts

The program uses a radio signal for communication.
One CodeX is assigned role 1 and starts the communication. One CodeX is assigned the last role and ends the communication. All other roles can have multiple CodeX assigned.

✅

Assessment Opportunities

Turn in the Activity Guide.
Complete the program neural_network2.

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Success Criteria

Complete the CodeTrek steps
Program runs correctly without errors
Activity Guide is completed

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Digital Resources

▸Mission 2 Obj 5 Activity Guide

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Classroom Materials

▸CodeX device and USB cable, one per student
▸Laptop/computer with Chrome browser

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Extensions & Cross-Curricular

ExtensionUse the scenarios from Objective 2 for this digital simulation.

Lang ArtsCompare and contrast this digital simulation with the physical simulation from Objective 2.

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New Python Code

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pixels.fill(BLUE)Light up all pixels on the CodeX the same color

my_role = set_role()Function call when the function returns a value

signal_received(pic_number)Function call that passes an argument to a parameter

message = msg.split(',')Splits a string message into a list, using a comma to identify each list item.

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Standards

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Computer Science

9-12.AP.15 9-12.AP.16

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Preparing for the Lesson

Work out your role assignments before class. Decide how many roles your network will have, then plan who starts as role 1, who takes the last role, and how you are spreading the rest across the middle.
Every role needs at least one CodeX. Middle roles can take several, so use your student count to fill them out evenly.
Decide how students get the Activity Guide. You can print a copy for each student or assign it digitally.
Run the program yourself first so you know what a completed network looks like on the devices, including the pixel colors students will see.
Plan your room layout. Students in the same role will want to be grouped together so the network is easy to follow when it runs.

🧑‍🏫

Teacher Notes

Assign roles before your students run the program. One student needs to start the communication and set their role to 1. One student needs to end the communication and set their role as the last one. All other students set their roles in between the first and last.
There can be any number of CodeX devices assigned to each middle role, but there should be at least one CodeX assigned to each role.
The Objective has an Activity Guide for students. You can print the guide for each student or assign it digitally.
This objective closes out the mission. If you ran the unplugged simulation in Objective 2, the language arts extension is a natural way to tie the two together.
Extensions and cross-curricular projects are included to enhance the concepts in the objective. You can use the extensions to extend students' learning.

🗺️

Lesson Outline

🗣️Warm-up / Hook

Move students from a chain to a network.

Ask: "Yesterday our signal had exactly one path. In a real brain, how many neurons receive the same message at once?"
Ask: "If three of you are all playing the same role, what should happen when the signal reaches you?"

Teaching tip: Sketch the chain from Objective 4 on the board, then widen the middle into stacked groups. Students see the difference between a chain and a network faster on the board than in the code.

🔗Assign the Network

Roles come first. Nothing runs correctly until they are set.

Name the student who starts the communication as role 1, and the student who ends it as the last role.
Assign the middle roles. Group several students on each one, and confirm every role in between has at least one CodeX.
Have students say their role number out loud in order so you can hear any gaps before the program runs.
Hand out or assign the Activity Guide.

Teaching tip: Write the role map on the board, including how many students sit on each middle role. When the network stalls, that map is the first thing you will want to check against.

💻Student Work Time

Students build neural_network2 and run the network.

Students work through the CodeTrek steps, adding code to neural_network2.
Students set their own role with set_role() and use the pixel colors to show their state as the signal arrives.
Run the network. The signal should start at role 1, pass through every middle role, and finish at the last role.
Run it several times, then complete the Activity Guide.
If you are doing the extension, re-run the network using the scenarios from Objective 2, with inhibitory and malfunctioning neurons in the mix.

Teaching tip: The pixels make debugging visual. Watch which group of devices lights up and which one never does, and you have found the broken role without reading a line of code.

✏️Wrap-up & Review

Close out the mission by comparing the two simulations.

Discussion: how did the digital network compare to the human chain from Objective 2? What did the code capture, and what did it miss?
Ask: "Why does it matter that several neurons can share the same role?"
Collect the Activity Guides.

Teaching tip: That first question is the language arts extension in conversation form. If students give good answers out loud, they are ready to write the compare and contrast piece with very little extra setup.

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